The Vagrancy Problem.: The Case for Measures of Restraint for Tramps, Loafers, and Unemployables: With a Study of Continental Detention Colonies and Labour HousesDawson, William Harbutt
History
The Vagrancy Problem.: The Case for Measures of Restraint for Tramps, Loafers, and Unemployables: With a Study of Continental Detention Colonies and Labour Houses
Dawson, William Harbutt
Poor laws; Poor laws -- Great Britain; Tramps; Unemployed
"(1) Every wayfarer not possessing more than one mark (1s.) in money,
and unable to obtain work in the locality, will be considered as
'without means.' Any person who has more than one shilling in his
possession, and who conceals or denies this fact, may not only be
required to pay for the relief which he receives, but may also be
prosecuted for fraud.
"(2) Any person, who, by reason of old age, sickness, or infirmity, is
unfit for work, will be referred to the local authorities with a view
to his receiving Poor Law relief.
"(3) Every wayfarer without means who wishes to receive relief in
a relief station is required to produce his travelling pass. The
wayfarer is required, provided that he is still in possession of any
money, to procure such a pass himself. A pass may be obtained by the
payment of 6_d._, or by the performance of at least four hours' work
in the relief station. Relief is not given at the station issuing the
pass. [This provision applies only to wayfarers able to pay.] A pass
may only be issued to persons at least sixteen years of age, who are
in a position, by producing a removal certificate or other similar
evidence, to establish their identity, and are able to prove by means
of insurance receipt, certificate of employment, etc., that they have
recently been in work.
"Wayfarers who apply for relief at a relief station, but are not in
possession of a travelling pass, will first be referred to the police
as being 'homeless persons.' Only when the local police authorities
certify that they have performed, with due industry, a task of work
set by such authorities, and of at least one day's duration, and that
no other objection exists to the issue of a travelling pass, can such
pass be issued, and such persons be admitted to the regular relief
offered by the station. [Persons relieved as 'homeless' are received
into the relief station on the first or second day, according as the
police require them to work for one day or two days, after completion
of their work, and on the following morning they work for such a
period as is prescribed by the rules of the station in return for the
relief received by them, and then receive their pass.]
"The pass and all the other documents must be given up to the proper
authorities of the relief station, and will be returned only after the
required task of work has been performed.
"When a pass is issued, a note to that effect will be stamped on the
other documents belonging to the holder. The stamp will show the place
and date of the issue of the pass. An insurance receipt may not be
stamped.
"(4) At each relief station, the wayfarer's pass shall be stamped with
the date of his departure, which shall be evidence that the holder has
completed the last section of his journey according to regulations,
that he has not refused any work offered to him, and has performed the
task assigned to him at the station according to regulations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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